Cool Whip Sensory Play

Summer is in full swing and while we spend most mornings, starting between 8:30 and 9am at one of our local parks, the afternoons I'm left to figure out something that will entertain a 3 year old, a 10 year old, and 1 day a week a 2 year old.  That can be really difficult, especially in a small space like ours.

I worked in a daycare for 4 years and learned quite a few different activities that kids of all ages enjoy.  One of them was playing with cool whip (or for older kids, shaving cream).  We used to do this once a week in the toddler room. 

I bought some to make a cake for my mom's birthday and ended up leaving it on the table for like 4 hours.  I was so annoyed it was ruined because of my inability to remember things these days but instead of throwing it away I decided the kids could play with it the next day and I wouldn't feel like it was completely wasted.

 I used some food coloring for extra fun and Grants whole arm was stained a nice shade of grayish blue.  I think next time I will use a smidge of his washable Crayola paints to coloring the whipped cream instead of food coloring.This could be a good sensory activity for Preschool learning the letter C or learning how the primary colors mix to make other colors.

Disclaimer: if you plan on doing this activity with kids who aren't in high chairs, outside is the best place so you can hose everything off.  Make sure the kids either wear art smocks or old clothing because it will inevitably have shaving cream all over it.  I found colored whipped cream everywhere when I was cleaning and even had to scrub parts of my carpet.  Who puts carpet in a dining area anyways, stupid apartments, makes no sense to me.

This activity was a simple one and the kids loved it.   They were busy making drawings, smearing, and slapping the cool whip for a good 30-45minutes. $1.50 (less if your store actually has the offbrand in stock) for nearly an hour of entertainment for 2 kids....not bad.